Bite
by Andi88
Summary: While in Neverland searching for Henry, Emma is bitten by a venomous creature, and now the group must race to try and find an antidote before it's too late. But Emma isn't hopeful, and she just wants to make sure that Henry will be cared for, and that her parents know how she feels about them.
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings! Is everyone else ready for September 29 to hurry up and get here?**

**So my plot bunnies have been hopping lately. (And I don't mean the bunny my mom brought home today and won't let me name Plot. :/ ) And I know I keep promising to update my other stories, but this one wouldn't let me go. It's a two-parter, and takes place during our heroes' visit to Neverland.**

**I'd like to point out there is a TEENSY spoiler alert hidden in this first chapter. It doesn't give away anything important, and most of you probably have already seen it. If not, you might not even be able to tell it apart from the rest of the stuff that I've made up about NL. I'm just trying to avoid as many spoilers as I can, yet this one I couldn't resist throwing in there! **

**So, enjoy!**

* * *

Emma shuffled through the dense underbrush behind Hook and Gold, with David, Snow, and Regina trailing behind her. The shade of the trees did little to shield them from the pressing heat and suffocating humidity that made it feel like she was swimming in a bowl of hot soup.

Neverland was at the same time similar and extravagantly different than the Enchanted Forest. They were both laden with magic that you could just _feel_, and both gave Emma an uneasy feeling of displacement. But Neverland was strange in ways that made the Enchanted Forest seem like Hoboken.

There were flowers that smelled you, fish that swam in puddles above your head, and grass that looked like each blade was colored by a kindergartener with a whole box of crayons at his disposal.

Where they were traversing at the moment appeared fairly normal, in fact it was a lot like the tropical areas of Florida she'd visited, but Emma knew that any moment now they'd run into a tree that talked or something crazy like that. Or worse, a Lost Boy at Peter Pan's command expertly wielding a bow.

Never, not even after learning her mother and father were freaking Snow White and Prince Charming, would she have believed that she'd one day be living in fear of freaking Peter Pan.

"Not much farther," Hook called back. "We'll reach a copse of trees where we'll be relatively safe until morning."

"Joy," Emma mumbled. Both her body and mind were completely exhausted, not that anyone else was much better. She knew if she didn't stop and rest she'd likely drop, but it was so hard to stop moving when Henry was still out there, alone with that idiot and that psycho bitch.

"Careful where you step, Dearie," Gold, or Rumplestiltskin, or whatever the hell he was chirped back at her. "Don't drag your feet that way, never know what could be lurking beneath our feet!" he emphasized his words by twirling around to face her and gesturing flamboyantly with his hands.

Emma really hated this latest incarnation of the pawnbroker. Okay, so maybe he filled out a pair of leather pants surprisingly well, not that she liked to dwell on that, but the mannerisms and creepy (er?) way of talking were grating on her. Regina had informed her that this was the 'real' Rumplestiltskin, leather pants and all. All he lacked was shiny greenish skin.

Now shiny greenish skin she'd kind of like to see.

She dragged her feet through the leaves in spite, which was admittedly childish, hearing David snigger behind her. Her legs were just too tired to lift that high. When she stubbed her toe on a rock, she swallowed a curse so not to prove the prissy bastard right…until that rock suddenly flew up and came right at her face.

Emma let out a most undignified shriek along with that curse and leapt back, trying to wave the insect-like creature away. From somewhere behind her David yelled, "What the hell?!"

It was the size of a cantaloupe and had six legs, two sets of wings, and three pairs of angry-looking eyes. Emma drew her sword and swung at it, barely registering Hook screaming at her not to let it bite her.

She wasn't about to _let _anything bite her, but the damned thing was fast, and with an angry hiss it dodged her sword and sank its sharp, inch-long fangs into her arm just before Gold was able to turn the thing into a puff of smoke.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, and almost as soon as it started, Emma was standing with her sword still in her hand, panting for air and wincing at the sharp pain in her arm.

"What the hell _was _that thing?" David demanded while Snow gently lifted Emma's arm to inspect the wound.

Emma looked up at Hook, waiting for the answer, and her stomach lurched at the horrified look on his face. "It bit you," he said.

"Yeah, it bit me," Emma growled. "Now what? Was it poisonous?"

Hook nodded. "I'm afraid so, lass, very. I didn't even know there were any of those damnable things left on this island. I thought the Lost Boys wiped them out ages ago."

"Well, what is it going to do to Emma?" Snow asked, her voice wavering with panic.

Hook rubbed the back of his neck, and Emma hated the way he was looking at her, like he was preparing her eulogy.

"I've only heard tales, never seen it firsthand. The venom works quickly, coursing through the body as it makes its way into your head."

Emma couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Is it…fatal?"

Hook looked like he was going to be sick. "Aye."

"Well we have to do something!" David exclaimed while Snow let out a cry. "Gold! You can heal her, right?"

Gold was already waving his glowing-purple hand across Emma's arm. "This type of poison is completely foreign to me," he said grimly. "It's a strange mixture of magic and nature. I don't know how to cure it. If I was at home with my potions and books maybe…but here…"

_This can't be happening_, Emma thought. Henry had already lost his father, she couldn't let him lose her too! Not over something as stupid as a bug bite! She glanced over at her mother, who had turned a frightening shade of white – and not the white she was named for. _This can't be happening._

Hook marched over to her and took Emma's arm from her mother's, brandishing a knife.

"You're gonna cut my arm off?!" Emma cried, not even pulling her arm back. If that's what it took…

"No, lass," he said, using the knife to cut the bite wound open. "Ever been bitten by a snake?"

Emma didn't know what he meant until he quickly brought her arm up to his mouth and started sucking on the wound, turning his head away to spit out clear liquid. She cringed in pain, reaching out blindly and feeling her father's hand encase her free one. She squeezed tightly.

"Will this save her?" Snow asked.

"Can't hurt," Hook hissed, and Emma realized his face was contorted in pain.

"Are you okay?!"

"This shit burns," he managed, shaking his head as if to rid himself of it.

"Here, let me," David said, taking up Hook's place.

"Wait, wait," Emma tried to pull her arm away, but David held fast. "Hook, this won't hurt you guys will it?"

"Only if it gets into the blood," Hook said, rinsing his mouth out with Regina's water.

David stopped when what he was spitting out was nothing but blood, then vigorously washed out his mouth.

"That should work, getting the venom out, right?" Snow asked, wringing her hands.

"Only time will tell," Hook said. "If it doesn't, you'll begin to feel lightheaded, Swan. You'll grow feverish and achy, as if you have the flu. But the worst part…"

"Don't leave us in suspense," Regina snapped impatiently.

"The Lost Boys called the creature a Nightmare Bug. They call it that because the poison attacks your mind, most specifically your memory. In your last moments you are forced to live through all of the worst moments of your life, all of your fears, all of your nightmares. They said that the boys who were bitten were mad by the time they died."

Emma had seated herself on a log and was looking at her still-angry wound, her heart going out to those poor little boys who had to die that way.

"And there's nothing else that can be done?" Snow asked.

"I feel fine," Emma insisted. "My arm still hurts a little, but I think getting the venom out did it."

Snow touched the back of her hand to Emma's flushed cheek, and Emma's heart sank at the look in her mother's eyes.

"Emma-honey, you're burning up."

Emma was trying to ignore it, brush it off as her exhaustion, but she felt awful. Her whole body burned, and she felt like she could pass out. "No," she said, furiously shaking her head. "No, this can't happen…No!"

"There HAS to be something we can do!" David exclaimed. "I will not just sit here and watch my daughter…" his voice cracked and he trailed off before he could say the word.

Hook rubbed his face. "The only ones who would know what can be done are the Red Skins."

"The who?" Regina asked.

"The Red Skins, the natives of this island. They've lived here longer than Lost Boy and pirate combined. If anyone has an antidote, it's them."

"Well, where do we find them?" Snow asked.

"They're nomadic, with at least a dozen different camps across the island."

"Of course they are," Gold muttered. If Emma didn't know better, she'd think he looked kind of worried about her.

"Can either of you find them with magic?" David asked Regina and Gold.

"This isn't our land," Regina said, crossing her arms. "We don't know this place, or these Red Skins."

"Even we have our limits," Gold said, more gently.

"Then we'll split up," David said. "Hook'll give each of us directions to one of the camps. We'll find them."

"I don't know if it's a good idea us all going out alone," Regina said.

"Emma is dead if we don't try," Hook reasoned. "There are five that I know of that aren't all that far from here," he brushed away a layer of leaves then knelt down and began to draw a map in the dirt.

"Regina, you backtrack the way we came, back toward the beach. Follow the shore west and you'll find it at the foot at the cliff. You can't miss it."

"Can we trust you to actually try and find them?" David asked.

"Do you have a choice?" Regina shot back and spun on her heel and disappeared into the forest without a backward glance.

"I'm staying with Emma," Snow declared, brooking no argument.

"But if we split up we'll cover more ground," Emma said. It made sense to her, but everyone else just shook their head at her and went back to the map.

"Take Emma east," Hook said, pointing at his map. "The way we were headed. I know that there is one at the lake, and it's closest."

Snow examined the path he indicated and nodded, then moved to help Emma stand. Hook assigned Gold and David a destination and everyone split ways.

"If there's a way, we'll find it," David promised.

"I know," Emma said. "But you guys have to promise me something else."

Her parents nodded.

"If this doesn't work, if we don't find a cure? You guys have to promise me you won't waste any time in continuing on to find Henry."

"Don't talk like that," Snow said shakily. "You're not going to die. We won't let you."

Emma hated to argue, but she knew that this was a last ditch effort, and that she really didn't have a chance. "Just promise me?"

David put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "We promise, Emma. Now go, and be careful."

He hugged Snow, but held on to Emma longer. Tears prickled her eyes when she thought that this could be the last time she ever saw her father. She'd known him – really known him – for far too short a time. There was so much left unsaid between them, she wasn't ready for it to end. She turned her head into his neck like she had when they were in the mine, and inhaled.

"I'll meet you at the lake," he said, giving Emma one more long look, then ran into the woods.

Emma looked over at her mother and gave her a weak smile, hoping to look confident. "Ready?"

Snow's eyes were haunted, but she returned the smile and took Emma's hand then nodded, leading the way into the forest. "A short delay," she said, holding a branch up for Emma to duck under. "We'll have you all better and back to looking for Henry before nightfall."

"Right," Emma said, wishing she could just curl up into a ball and sleep. "Right."


	2. Chapter 2

**I know, I always say my story is going to be so many chapters but I usually wind up adding something. So in keeping with tradition, this has gone from a two-parter to a three-parter! I just felt like adding a little introspective from David, along with some extra Emma. :)**

**Thanks to everyone who read/reviewed/favorite! I love you guys!**

* * *

David ran through the woods as fast as his legs would take him, heedless of the ache or the pain in his lungs.

He had been scared when he found Snow, lifeless in a glass coffin a lifetime ago.

He had been scared when he fought three of Regina's guards to protect Emma when she was a baby.

He had been scared when Snow and Emma fell through a portal without him.

And he was terrified for Henry.

But this, David had never in his life felt such fear. If Hook was to be believed, and really as much as he distrusted the pirate he had never really lied before, and why would he lie about this, Emma was going to die in a matter of hours.

He kept seeing the horror on Hook's face, the grim realization on Gold's, and growing paleness on Emma's.

He had been fighting for Emma for as long as he could remember, it felt like. From the moment he held his mother's pendant over Snow's hand and her eyes lit up with the realization that they were to someday have a child, he had been fighting for her.

When he first saw her little face, all pink and wet and scrunched up he had been lost. His entire existence narrowed in to revolve around that one little girl. Maybe once he had professed to want a boy, but oh how his heart sang when Snow told Rumplestiltskin their daughter's name.

Their daughter.

_His daughter_.

She wasn't little anymore, and she wasn't exactly what he could call 'his.' She was her own person, the hero he only pretended to be. So strong, so brave, so kindhearted, everything he loved best in her mother. It was easy to love her, but not always easy to show it.

At first he had a very difficult time reconciling this bold, cynical woman that, during the curse, he'd been rather intimidated by with the defenseless infant he placed in that wardrobe. It was easier for Snow; they had been friends already plus Snow had that extra bond of having actually given _birth_ to Emma. All he had was a desperate swordfight. He never _didn't_ love her, but at first he didn't think that she could ever be a daughter to him. Too much time had passed. Her life had been too hard. They were the same _age_.

But then she slipped through that portal and he thought he'd lost her – and Snow – again, and he would have done _anything _to bring her back. Once they did come home, the two of them finally began to get to know one another without the idiotic David Nolan messing things up.

And every day he would look into her beautiful eyes and see the same blue that looked up at him briefly before he kissed her goodbye 28 years earlier.

If someone had asked him long ago if he could ever love a woman as much as he loves Snow, he would have told them 'hell no.' And he would have been dead wrong.

Yet as much as he loved her, he had felt like a big brother rather than a father, right up until just a couple of days prior when Emma had come home without Neal. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were blank, and never had he seen her in such pain.

Both he and Snow had been lost in the face of the steadfast Emma broken and defeated. He didn't know what to do, so he just sat down beside her and _hoped _he could say something comforting. It was easy to comfort Snow, not so easy to comfort Emma.

But he did what came natural, he did what he'd wanted to do since the day the curse broke. He held his girl and kissed her head, and then marveled at how she leaned into him, her tense body relaxing.

It was right then that for the first time, he felt like her father.

And he hadn't forgotten her frightened voice when she'd turned those impossibly big (and, he had learned rather quickly over the past months, impossible to deny,) eyes to him and called him 'Dad.' Sometimes he wondered if she ever realized the amount of power she held over him just with her eyes.

They'd come so far, and he would _not_ lose her now.

David slowed his mad dash, wondering if through his tangle of thoughts he'd passed it. But no, there was the river to his right, just like Hook said. He was close.

His father, Jesse, had been a very religious man. His mother, while still spiritual, practiced her faith more subtly than her husband but both taught him how to pray. Since leaving home, and having disaster after disaster follow him, David didn't make much time for faith or praying. But that night he prayed. He prayed and prayed and would have been on his knees if he wasn't running so fast.

"Take me," he panted as he ran. "Just don't take Emma. Not Emma. Please, not Emma."

Finally he came upon a small clearing, and in it he could see the tell-tale signs of habitation. But it was vacant.

He almost sank to his knees then, from exhaustion and despondency more than anything else, but he forced himself not to.

He poked around the camp for just a moment, half-heartedly looking for some kind of sign where the natives were. Or perhaps a bottle labeled: 'Nightmare Bug Anti-Venom,' but he knew _that _wasn't happening.

He ran his hands through his hair, swallowing his tears. All that was left for him to do now was go to the lake where Snow and Emma were headed, and hope and pray that one of the others found the natives, and that they knew what to do.

He was a farm boy, and while cursed he'd worked in an animal shelter. He knew a thing or two about poisonous bites, and how quickly they could kill without anti-venom. According to Hook and Gold this Nightmare Bug was worse and more deadly than any snake.

David let out an anguished cry and swung his fist wildly, slamming it against the nearest tree. Stars exploded in his vision from the pain, but he ignored it.

Some fairytale hero he was. He couldn't even keep his own family together and safe. He was a pathetic excuse for a father, a husband, a grandfather.

But it was not the time for self-loathing. If he could do nothing else, he was going to be with his wife and daughter. That much he _could _do.

So he turned on his heel and ran, following the river. His legs were wobbly and his chest felt near to bursting, but it was nothing compared to the fear piercing his heart.

* * *

Emma tried to breathe as quietly as possible, so not to alert Snow to how difficult it was for her. Every now and then though a gasp would escape, and Snow would turn her worried eyes on her and ask if she needed to rest.

"I'm okay," Emma managed, trying her damnedest to look and sound strong. She kept thinking maybe if she just ignored the way she felt, or the way her arm was swelling to twice its normal size, then maybe it all would pass and she would be fine. Mind over matter, right?

"Stop right there,"

Emma froze in her tracks and slowly turned around. "David?" she said, hating the way her tongue felt in her mouth when she spoke, all swollen and fuzzy.

It wasn't David behind her but a police officer, pointing a gun at her. "Hands above your head please, miss."

"How polite," Emma mumbled dazedly. "Why?"

The cop was stalwart and emotionless. "Possession of stolen goods. He left you holding."

"No," Emma shook her head. "Neal wouldn't…he wouldn't do that…he loves me…"

"Sorry to tell you, but your boy took off. Probably in Canada by now. He called in a tip – told us to take a look at the surveillance footage at the train station. Give me the watch, NOW!"

Emma rubbed her wrist, feeling tears sting her eyes. "But…no…"

"Emma?"

Emma turned back around to find Snow watching her with a concerned expression. She clearly didn't see the cop.

_I'm seeing things_, Emma thought, rubbing her temples and squeezing her eyes shut. When she opened them again, the cop was gone.

"Emma, are you okay?" Snow asked. "What were you saying about Neal?"

"Nothing," Emma said. "I'm fine I just…it was nothing."

Snow took her hand, squeezing it affectionately. "It shouldn't be too much farther."

Emma nodded, tightening her fingers around her mother's.

It wasn't three more steps before she heard another man's voice. It was barely more than a whisper, but it sent shivers down her spine. "Worthless piece of trash…"

She shook her head, so hard that it made her vision swim._ It's not real. It's the poison._ If she kept reminding herself of that, she would be okay.

Snow helped Emma over a log, (that looked more like a mountain to Emma,) and on the other side stood a woman in a long, purple dress.

"Cora…" Emma whispered.

"What?" Snow turned around just as Cora stepped forward, her hand reaching for Snow's chest, ready to take her heart.

"No!" Emma screamed, lunging forward to shove Snow out of the way.

Snow tumbled over the log, landing hard on her back.

Emma blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. _Cora is dead! Cora is not here!_

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, reaching down to help Snow up.

"I'm okay," Snow said, brushing herself off. "What was that? What did you see?"

"Oh, uh, nothing I just thought…you were walking into a spider's web and I…I know how you…hate spiders."

Snow frowned at her, quickly glanced up to where there was no spider's web. "Oh, thank you. Come on, let's sit down for a second, okay?"

"No! No we need to keep going," in all honestly she knew that if she sat down now, there would be no getting up again. But she couldn't say that to her mom.

"_Can't do anything right, can you brat?"_

She had to stay focused, had to fight this. She wouldn't just lay down and give up, not when she had _so much _to leave behind. Two years ago she might have done just that, give in to the pain, because who would miss her if she left? Now, for the first time, she had a family. Most importantly she had a _son_.

"_Henry needs you! Don't let him grow up the way we did!"_

Emma shook her head violently, pushing the vivid images out of her mind, scrambling to try to replace them with something better.

"_You're the hero! You're gonna bring back the happy endings!"_

"I'm working on it, kid," she mumbled.

"_I believe in you."_

Even though she knew Henry wasn't really there either, she clung on to his voice, holding on to it with both hands.

"Don't give up, Henry, I'm coming for you."

* * *

**Oh no! Will our hero make it?! Will they find a cure in time?! Stay tuned for the answer! Sorry to anyone who thought that the answer would come today. *giggles evilly.* **

**Quick note, yes, I made David religious. It makes sense to me since his name/story along with the names of everyone involved with his story were inspired by the biblical story of David. (Hence why David's father is named Jesse in my headcanon, lol.)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here it is! The conclusion! Thanks you guys for the excellent feedback! Will Emma make it? Will anyone find a cure? You'll have to read and find out! ;)**

* * *

Snow felt sick. How could this be happening now? Hadn't their family suffered enough?

Emma was slowing by the minute, her skin growing waxy and pale, her breath labored. Her eyes shifted back and forth, as if not sure what to look at…or what she was seeing.

She was silent though, stubbornly refusing to voice any of her discomforts or pains in typical Emma fashion. Denial was her best offense.

"I think we're close," Snow said. "I smell water."

She waited for Emma to question or quip about her ability to smell water, but she didn't, just plowed doggedly ahead.

She refused to let her daughter die. They'd been through so much together, overcame _so much_. And there was still so much for them to do. They'd just found each other, Emma Swan would _not_ die because of a stupid bug bite.

Snow swallowed her tears, determined to stay strong for Emma's sake. She'd lost her baby once. She was damned it she would lose her again.

"If we had Mulan and Aurora with us, this would be just like old times!" Snow said brightly, glancing back at Emma.

"I liked that movie," Emma muttered. "Mushu is funny."

Snow frowned and pulled her along. Emma was rambling, and no longer appeared to be completely aware of what was going on, but followed Snow trustingly.

They reached the lake just as the sun was setting. There were obvious signs of habitation – but the camp didn't look like it had been used in some time. Snow's shoulders sagged in disappointment. She'd so been hoping that they would be there, would see Emma and know just what to do.

"I guess we'll just have to wait for the others," Snow said, leading Emma into the abandoned campsite. "I'm sure one of them will be along any moment with a cure. If the natives have survived this long, surely they have an antidote."

She was assuring herself more than Emma, but hoped that if Emma was still able to understand her, that it was helping at least a little. She helped her to sit against a large rock, and then took her empty water pouch to the lake to refill it.

When she returned, Emma was looking about a little more alertly, and took the water bottle from Snow's hands and drank.

"Feel a little better?"

"Yeah," Emma said, her voice tight. "I don't even remember the walk here."

"It was uneventful," Snow said, smiling wanly. "You just sit back and relax. Someone will be along with help soon."

Emma chuckled mirthlessly. "We both know that isn't true, Mary Margaret."

"Don't say that! There has to be a way! And one of the others will find it. You just have to hang on!"

"Oh I'm hangin'. I'll hang until I can't hang anymore. I won't stop fighting for Henry."

"That's right," Snow nodded. "Just keep thinking of Henry. He'll give you strength. You're that little boy's world, Emma. He needs you."

Emma nodded, looking up at her with glassy eyes. Snow felt her forehead again and was astonished by how hot she was. "Stay here, Em, I'll be right back," she didn't like the look of Emma's arm either. The wound was puffy and so dark a red it was almost purple, and pus leaked from the center. The rest of her arm was streaked with blue. It looked horribly painful, but luckily Emma seemed dazed enough not to feel it much.

She pulled a thin blanket out of her backpack and ran down to the lake to dunk it in. Maybe if she got Emma's fever down, it would buy her some time. On the way back up, she caught sight of a small canteen half buried in the sand. On a hunch, she grabbed it up and raced back to Emma.

She draped the soaked blanket over her, but it heated up in seconds. She opened up the canteen and took a whiff; her hunch had been right, there was some kind of alcohol inside. Rum by the smell of it. Perhaps pirates used this camp sometimes.

She poured a little of the rum on a corner of the blanket, hoping the alcohol might help cool her, and dabbed at her face.

"Hey, you're missing my mouth," Emma said, and Snow chuckled and raised the canteen up to her lips, thinking that it couldn't hurt.

Emma took a few sips and then leaned back, her body relaxing. She rolled her head towards her against the rock while Snow positioned herself beside her and met her eyes. "Mama?"

Snow's heart lurched at the slightly more affectionate term than Emma had used before, yet it hurt at the same time because she knew Emma wasn't herself. "Yes, Emma-honey?"

Emma quirked a slight smile. "I like it when you call me that."

Snow smiled too. "I know. That's why I call you that so much."

Emma's smiled faded. "Neal let go…of my hand…because he didn't want Henry to lose both of us…"

"I know," Snow said sadly.

"It isn't…fair…that he should lose us both anyway."

"He's not losing you," Snow said sharply.

Emma sighed and closed her eyes a moment. "Mom, my body hurts…my head…hurts…I think I see…my best friend from when I was eight over there by that tree but…I'm pretty certain…I'm hallucinating."

Despite herself, Snow glanced over at the tree, and of course there was no child standing there.

"Please…please let me…say this while I can."

A few tears escaped Snow's hold, and she latched on to Emma's hand. "Okay, Emma-honey, go ahead."

"It…isn't fair…but at least…at least he still has…Regina…right? But…I still don't trust her…I don't…I don't…I mean who knows what will…happen to her…"

"I think I know what you mean. Regina has a lot of enemies."

"Yeah…and I…I don't wanna leave Henry…but I know he'll be…okay…know how I know?"

Snow smiled, brushing a stray lock of hair out of Emma's face. "Because he still has family."

"Right…and he'll…he'll have…the best parents…anyone can ask for…you…you were always meant to be…a mother…"

Snow shook her head, crying in earnest now. "I promise, sweetheart, your father and I will love Henry like our own. We already do!"

Emma smiled back. "You were everything…I ever wanted…"

"Snow!"

Snow gasped and twisted around. "David! Over here!"

David loped into the clearing and straight for them.

"Did you find anything?"

David reached them and shook his head. "No, there was nothing there," he was gasping for breath. "I ran the whole way…no one else has gotten here yet?"

Snow shook her head. "She's getting worse, Charming."

David knelt beside them and stroked Emma's cheek. "Just hold on," he begged. "Just a little longer, Em."

Suddenly Emma reeled, recoiling from his hand as if it burned. "No! Get away!"

David jumped back, crushed, and looked at Snow.

"She's hallucinating," Snow explained. "Hook said she'd relive her worst memories!"

"What do we do?!"

"I don't know!" Snow sobbed, trying to reach out to Emma, but she hit her hands away, backing up against the rock, forming a fetal position.

"Please go away!" Emma cried, her voice high pitched and weak. "Please, I'm sorry! Don't!"

"We're not going to hurt you," Snow said as softly as she could. "Emma, love, it's us! Mary Margaret and David…Mom and Dad."

"Don't hit me!" Emma whimpered. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"What's happening to her?" David asked, tears on his own face. "What the hell is she reliving?"

"I'm not sure," Snow said, watching her daughter flinch and recoil as if being struck repeatedly. "I know that there was a foster home that she didn't like talking about. All she would say was she ran away from it."

"I can't watch this," David stood up, pacing in front of them. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" Snow snapped. "I don't know what to _do, _David!"

Emma quieted down, her body going limp. Snow rushed to her side and held her up, wrapping her arms around her. "It's okay," she whispered. "No one's going to hurt you, baby, it's okay."

"Where are they?" David growled.

Snow watched her husband pace, saw the shake in his shoulders. She held her daughter to her chest, feeling the life drain away from her.

"There's no cure, Charming," Snow said, her voice resigned and lifeless.

"No, I won't accept that!" he shouted. "We can't lose her!"

"I promised her we'd take care of Henry."

"We don't need to! She'll be there!"

"Maybe we need to say goodbye."

David turned to her, his eyes wide with disbelief. "I can't believe you're saying that."

Snow clutched Emma tighter, feeling her heart begin to accelerate and her body flinch. She was on the verge of another hallucination. She held on as if by doing so, Emma couldn't go anywhere. "She's suffering, Charming," she cried.

David dropped to his knees beside them. "Not her…anyone but her…" he said to no one in particular, or maybe he was praying, Snow wasn't sure.

"Henry!" Emma cried, but this time didn't push Snow away. "Henry!"

"Shhh," Snow rocked her. "We're going to find Henry, we're going to save him, Emma. I swear to you."

"I tried, Henry! I tried to save you! I'm so sorry!" sobs wracked her already weakened body, and she reached out in front of her. "I'm sorry! I should have believed you!"

"She's remembering when he went under the sleeping curse," David said.

Snow continued to rock Emma, humming tunelessly in her ear while they all cried. After a moment Emma subsided and blinked heavily. "Dad?"

David jumped slightly and leaned forward. "Right here, Em."

Emma's eyes cleared; she was no longer hallucinating, but Snow could feel her body continue to weaken. "Know what?"

David attempted a smile. "What?"

"I like…how you smell…"

David gave Snow a puzzled look then turned back to Emma, stroking her hair. "What?"

"I never…wanted…to tell you…cause…cause…it's weird…" both David and Snow chuckled. Everything about their relationship was weird. "But when you…hug me…I can smell you…and it…it…it smells familiar…like my blanket…"

David's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"That…smell…always made…made me…feel better…when I was sad or…or scared…as a…as a kid…as a kid. You smell like that…"

David smiled weakly then held his hand over his mouth, shaking his head.

Emma snuggled against Snow, shivering, so Snow tightened her hold. "Don't go, Emma," Snow whispered, despite her earlier statement. "I don't know what I'll do without you. My life _is _you. _You're _my happy ending. What will we do without you?"

"Love…Henry…" Emma breathed, then gestured toward Snow's abdomen. "Start again…"

Snow shook her head. "No…no…not without you…"

Her eyes fluttered shut. "Love…you…"

Snow pressed her face against Emma's hair. "I love you, too, Emma, we both love you so…" she paused, then looked up at David, an idea forming in her head.

"Snow?"

She brushed away her tears, angry that she didn't think to at least _try _this earlier. Gold said that it wasn't just venom…but also _magic_. Magic meant curse…and all curses could be broken…

If not, well, if not she would kiss her baby girl goodbye for the second time.

"Emma!" she exclaimed, pushing Emma's shoulder to straighten her up and rouse her. "Emma-honey, look at me!"

Emma's head lolled but her eyes determinedly tried to train themselves on Snow.

Snow grabbed Emma's face in both hands then hurriedly pressed her lips to her daughter's.

From beside her she heard David's intake of breath as a warm pulse radiated from them. She pulled away, praying to anyone that might hear her for it to work, and thought she could pass out from happiness when Emma's eyes opened, more clear than before, and color began to seep its way back into her cheeks.

Emma furrowed her brow, her face still encased in Snow's hands. "I love you…I do…but can you explain to me why we're kissing?"

Snow sobbed and snatched Emma into her arms, kissing her again in the process, her heart singing in joy when she felt Emma's arms come up to encircle her.

"It worked!" David cried, leaning in to hold them both.

"Again, I love you, but you're suffocating me," Emma croaked and Snow and David immediately released her.

"How do you feel?" Snow asked.

"Crappy," she said, pressing the heel of her hand to her head. "But decidedly not dead," she pulled her hand away from her head to look at the bite. "Look! It's almost faded away!"

Snow and David exchanged watery smiles and David kissed both his wife's and his daughter's heads.

Emma shifted, clearly feeling a little awkward with the abundance of physical affection. "So…all it took was True Love's Kiss? It works that way?"

"You should know better than anyone," David said. "That there's no love truer than a mother's love for her child."

Emma peered over at Snow shyly, and Snow could tell that she was overwhelmed by the fact that she could be loved that much…as much as she loved Henry.

"Sorry it took me so long," was all Snow said. Emma chuckled, leaning in to allow herself to be embraced once more.

The rest of the clan returned eventually, with empty hands. At least Regina did find the natives at the beach, but came back with the news that there was no cure. She rolled her eyes at the explanation of Emma's miraculous recovery. Hook and Gold both nodded approvingly.

They didn't rest long, only long enough for Emma to recover, and then they were on their way.

To save Henry.


End file.
